


The Path of Least Resistance

by orphan_account



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-26
Updated: 2013-09-26
Packaged: 2017-12-27 16:03:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/980892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gavin is terrible at dealing with his problems. His problems mainly being Michael.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Path of Least Resistance

Some things about Gavin are universally known. He’s a guy, he’s in his twenties, and sometimes he does Dumb Things. Less known, but no less true, is that he’s fundamentally bad at dealing with his issues.

This thing with Michael being the prime example.

There was no denying that there had been something between them from the moment they met - some spark of chemistry that made it so that even when they were bickering and fighting, they would always still _get along._

Then there had been that one night, the one that Gavin tried to avoid thinking about as much as possible. It had been just a few weeks after Michael had started at the office, they had begun to hang out outside of work, drinking beer and watching terrible horror flicks when it just _happened_. One moment they were mocking the terrible fake British accent of the main character, Michael laughing himself to tears with his arm slung over Gavin’s shoulders, the next moment Gavin was on his back on the couch with his hands down Michael’s pants and _Michael’s down his,_ and he wasn’t sure at all how it had happened.

The “talk” that came afterwards was one of the most awkward conversations Gavin had ever had - thinking about it still made him cringe involuntarily. Michael had said things about how it was a mistake, that he wasn’t gay and how the entire thing was impossible because they were _working together_ \- and Gavin, of course, had to go along with it because _that’s what he did_. Things had been a little awkward between them for a while, but eventually they could pretend nothing happened.

Gavin was pretty good at that. Pretending it never happened gave him the perfect opportunity to not examine his own feelings and realizing some things about himself he didn’t really want to know.

Michael was… worse.

Most days they would just talk, laugh, fight as usual, but then sometimes Gavin would turn his head to catch Michael just _looking_ at him, for one second too long, then look away. And Gavin would realize that yeah, they could act like nothing had and was ever going to happen but the thing between them was still there.

Then Michael had started going out with Lindsay, and it made Gavin really _bloody angry._

Because yeah, he could accept that Michael “wasn’t gay”, but it had been pretty fucking lame of him to use their being colleagues as an excuse to not explore this thing they had going, and then get engaged with _a different colleague._

It was easy to remember that he was happy for their sake and wished them all happiness as long as they were in a group - but when Gavin and Michael were alone together the jealousy gnawing at him was harder to deal with. So Gavin did the logical thing: He avoided the problem by avoiding Michael.

It took about a week before Michael called him out on it.

The office was emptying. Gavin was finishing with his editing, waiting for Michael to leave too. But Michael never seemed to do what Gavin expected him to - instead he went over and leaned against Gavin’s desk, looking down at him.

“Gavin.” The sound of Michael’s voice was almost drowned out by the sound of the video in his headphones. Gavin pretended not to hear, which apparently made Michael angry, because he reached out and ripped the headset right off his head.

“Michael, what the hell -” Gavin fumbled to catch the headphones before they crashed to the floor.

“Don’t ignore me when I’m trying to talk to you, asshole.”

Gavin didn’t look up or answer, but he didn't put the headphones back on either.

Michael was quiet for a second, then sighed. “I’m sorry, alright?”

“About what?”

“Don’t play stupid, Gavin. It doesn’t work on me. Thing is, I was scared back then, and I didn’t want to admit what was going on. So I was kind of shitty to you, and I’m sorry.”

“Just forget about it” Gavin muttered, still not looking up. Truth was, the apology felt pretty good, like it was what he’d been waiting for without realizing it himself.

Michael seemed to interpret this as his apology being accepted, because he reached out his hand to squeeze Gavin’s shoulder briefly, and then he left.

 

* * *

Things got better after that. They could laugh, and touch each other, and the spark was still there but it wasn’t _weird_. Until they made another mistake.

It was a Friday evening, Michael had asked Gavin to  “grab some bevs” with him and Lindsay. They had squeezed into a corner in a way too full bar, had way too many drinks while sitting way too close together.

Afterwards, Gavin tried to forget how he had been telling Lindsay how she has to take care of his “favorite boy” and how Michael had said that Lindsay and Gavin were both his favorites, and how he’d had his arms around the both of them, and how he’d kissed first Lindsay on the lips, then Gavin… Lindsay had smiled and laughed at the two of them, and Gavin had never been so happy and miserable at the same time before.

The truth was: Gavin _wanted_ Michael - he wanted to kiss him, to sleep with him, to do a thousand things he couldn’t do because Michael was _engaged_.

Gavin went home not long after that, curled up on his bed and tried not to think about anything at all.

 

* * *

Two days later, Gavin was just stepping out of the shower when he heard the doorbell ring, repeatedly.

“Calm down, you dolt” he muttered, as he wrapped a towel around his waist and hurried to open the door.

“Christ, Gavin. Put some clothes on before you answer the door” was the first thing Michael said as Gavin let him in. Gavin clearly saw Michael’s eyes sort of slide downwards before he caught himself and looked away.

“It’s not my fault you’re twenty minutes early, you idiot.” He could feel Michael’s eyes burning a hole in his back as he headed into the bedroom and shut the door.

When Gavin, now dressed, came back into the living room Michael had placed himself on the sofa and was groping around for the TV remote.

The same sofa where this whole stupid thing had started.

He stood there for a second, looking down at Michael, then asked without thinking; “What’s your deal, anyway?”

“What?” Michael looked up, and went quiet when he saw the expression on Gavin’s face. Gavin just stood there, saying nothing.

Michael looked down again. “Look, Gavin, I…” He put his head in his hands, fingers tangling in his curls. “I’m in love with Lindsay, right? I’m going to marry her, and probably have kids and all that stuff. She’s awesome, and I want to be together with her forever.”

Gavin crossed his arms over his chest. “I know all that already.”

“Just let me finish, will ya? I’m like, one hundred percent in love with her, but the thing is I’m… I’m sort of in love with you too.”

 _That_ wasn’t anything Gavin was expecting to hear. For a moment, he was too stunned to speak.

“So you see”, Michael continued, “this isn’t all that easy for me either.”

“But thats - how does that even -”

“It’s called being polyamorous, Gavin. Look it up.”

Gavin really didn't get it - he’d certainly never been in love with two people at once. Then again, he’d never been in love with a guy before this, either, so what did he know?

When the silence was threatening to stretch out into awkwardness, Michael picked up the remote. “Wanna play some fucking video games or what?”

Gavin sat down.

 

*  *  *

It seemed like they always slipped when they’d had a drink or two too many.

It was late, they were drunk and happy, stumbling into Gavin’s apartment. Gavin’s T-shirt was soaked through with most of a beer that he’d spilled all over himself earlier.

“I’ve gotta change my shirt”, he muttered, nearly tripping over as he was trying to kick his shoes off.

“Jesus, Gav” Michael laughed, gripping Gavin’s arm to steady him. Together they went into the the bedroom, Gavin pulling his shirt off and losing his balance in the process. Giggling, he collapsed on the bed, and Michael threw himself down next to him.

“Gav. Gavino. You’re drunk.”

Gavin was still giggling. “Yeah.” The bed seemed to be rotating slightly. It was kind of nice, he decided. He closed his eyes.

Gavin felt a hand on his head, combing through his hair. “‘S nice” he slurred, turning his head to look at Michael. Michael, who was staring back at him, no longer smiling, eyes huge and dark.

Michael’s fingers trailed down, his palm resting against Gavin’s cheek.

“I looked it up, you know”, Gavin said.

“What?”

“That polyamority thing.”

“It’s polyamory, idiot.”

“It said you were supposed to like…” Gavin grasped for words. “To like decide on things. In advance. To make it not like cheating.”

“... Yeah.”

Gavin grabbed Michael’s hand, tangled their fingers together, and put them on the bed between them. “So you could like. Talk to Lindsay. About things.”

Michael’s eyes widened slightly. “You’re not seriously saying I could… I should…”

Gavin frowned. “It was your idea to begin with.”

Michael didn’t say anything else. And when Gavin woke up the next morning, he was gone.

 

* * *

It was an incredibly stupid thing that set Michael off. Somehow, he’d seen a clip from an old video of Gavin joking about wanting to have sex with Dan, at a youtube-event that Gavin could hardly remember anymore.

“What the fuck, Gavin? You can’t just, you can’t fucking say something like that -”

Michael was heavy on top of Gavin, his fingers digging into Gavin’s wrist. Gavin’s arm was pinned between them, the side of his face against the floor.

The guys at the office had joked a million times about Gavin being gay, but somehow, it seemed the idea of Gavin fucking _Dan_ was something Michael couldn’t handle.

Gavin thought he could hear Michael’s teeth grinding. He tried to squirm out from underneath him, but it was pointless. He’s nowhere as strong as Michael - especially not when he’s angry - and Michael had him properly pinned against the floor.

For a moment Gavin couldn’t decide if he was feeling amused, or angry, or just really turned on. Probably a little of each.

“Let go of me, Michael.” Michael didn’t move, or answer. And suddenly Gavin felt very, very annoyed. “What’s your problem, anyway?”

Michael started to snap back at him, “You know what my fucking problem - ” but Gavin interrupted him. “Is exactly that. Your problem. I wasn’t the one who, who went and bloody got engaged -”

The silence from Michael was telling. Gavin felt the steel grip around his wrist start to loosen, and some of the weight ease off his back.

“It was a just a joke, you prick”, Gavin mutters.

“What?”

“I don’t bang dudes, Michael, you know that.”

A sigh. Gavin could feel it, warm against the back of his neck. “Liar.”

“Oh shut up, I don’t…” Whatever he was going to say was lost the next moment when he felt a hand slowly trail down his side, fingers brushing against his skin where it was exposed between his T-shirt and jeans.

“Michael.” He meant for it to sound like a warning, but it came out needy instead. “Michael, we talked about this.”

The reply was soft against the shell of his ear. “I know, I just…”

Gavin managed to twist his free arm down to close his hand over Michael’s. “Stop. I told you already. You sort this out with Lindsey first.”

Finally, Michael let him go and got up. “Yeah. You’re right. Sorry.”

Gavin didn’t move a muscle until he heard Michael leave his apartment, the door shutting firmly behind him.

“Bloody idiot”, he mutters. Groaning, he banged his head against the floorboards. “Great big sodding _git_.”

 

* * *

Michael hardly looked at him for the next few days. Gavin silently hoped it was because he was embarrassed, and that he wasn’t angry anymore.

 

* * *

It took about a week before Gavin was invited over to Michael’s and Lindsay’s flat to eat pizza and watch movies. He’d hardly arrived before Lindsay got up and declared that she was going to go get the food.

Michael and Gavin looked at each other.

“I talked to Lindsay about the thing.” Michael said without preamble. Gavin froze.

 _They planned this ambush on me_ , he thought with some annoyance. He felt he should probably say something, but couldn’t seem to open his mouth.

“She said that she gets it. And that we could… Like, give it a try.”

Gavin just stared. How was he supposed to react to that? Was that supposed to, like, just sort everything out? Like it wasn’t _really bloody weird,_ this entire situation?

Saying nothing, Gavin got up, and walked out the door.

 

* * *

He waited on the front steps of the apartment building until Lindsay returned, carrying the pizza boxes.

She stopped in front of him. “Getting some fresh air?”

He looked up at her. He’d been trying to figure out what he wanted to ask her, but he still couldn’t figure out how to string the right words together.

“Michael said you talked and that you’re fine with it”, he blurted out. “But I don’t get it. Shouldn’t you be jealous and like, mad at me?”

She sighed and sat down next to him. “Look, Gavin. He asked me to marry him. I’m not exactly worried that you’re going to steal him away from me or anything. But this whole thing with you is making him miserable, and I really don’t want him to be.” She glanced at Gavin and smiled.”I want him to be happy, and if he needs you in order to be happy, that’s alright with me. We can work something out.”

Gavin frowned. “What the hell are you, some kind of saint?”

She laughed. “We just have to set down some ground rules. It’ll be OK. Now, let’s eat the pizza before it gets cold, alright?”

He followed her inside.

 

* * *

The look of relief on Michael’s face when they entered together was almost painful to Gavin.

Lindsay made them talk things out while they were eating (“ _If this is going to work the two of you have to, you know, talk to each other like adults_ ”) and make some rules to follow (“ _This is between the three of us. It doesn’t mean any of us gets to sleep with anyone else_ ”).

It was almost painfully embarrassing to Gavin, but afterwards he felt relieved and, truth be told, excited. Like he was about to do another Dumb Thing, but one that might turn out to be something amazing.

When it was time for him to leave Lindsay gave him a kiss on the cheek and left him with Michael in the hallway.

“So”, Gavin said, “I guess I’ll see you at work. Tomorrow.”

“Yeah.”

Just as the silence threatened to stretch into awkwardness and Gavin was about to just leave, Michael stretched out a hand, hooked his fingers around the back of Gavin’s neck, and kissed him.

Afterwards, Gavin decided that that kiss was probably one of the best things that had ever happened to him. It was definitely up there with discovering masturbation and starting to work at Rooster Teeth. It was _top_.

 

* * *

The Monday that followed went by in a daze. Gavin's usually excellent focus when it came to work was all but ruined - he'd constantly get sidetracked from seeing Michael in the corner of his eye, or from hearing his voice, or from a hand casually squeezing his shoulder as Michael was passing by.

When they finally were leaving for lunch - and Gavin had done about a third of the editing he would normally have done in that time - Michael hooked an arm around his shoulder and asked him in a too casual voice what his plans for the evening were.

"Nothing planned, really. Why?" Gavin did his best to play it cool, but he felt certain Michael could hear his heart racing.

"Thought I could bring some beers over."

"Cool, sure."

The wide grin Gavin received in reply made him week in the knees. _Christ, what's even going on with me. It's just Michael. And me. Alone in my flat._ Bloody hell.

He could feel himself start to blush, and at that moment they rounded a corner and ran into Lindsay. She met Gavin's eyes and grinned knowingly.

"Hey nerds. You going out?"

Gavin wanted to choke her a little. "To lunch, yeah. Wanna come along?"

Her smile widened. "Oh no, I wouldn't want to ruin your date."

Michael just laughed and gave her a quick kiss, and then pulled Gavin along.

 _These two are going to be the death of me,_ Gavin thought.  

***

That evening they went swimming, had beers, and when they were finally back at Gavin's place and sprawled out on his couch he felt relaxed, and happy, and no longer weirded out by this new development in their friendship. Relationship. Thing.

 _I could reach out right now,_ he thought. _Touch him, or kiss him, and it would be okay._

It seemed Michael was thinking the same thing, because he was leaning closer, and so was Gavin, and then they were finally, _finally_ kissing again.

Michael's lips were softer and his skin smoother than any guy's had the right to be. Gavin let his hand slip up to tangle in Michael's curls. Yep, soft too.

When Michael broke the kiss his lips were even redder than usual, and suddenly, making out on the couch just wasn't enough anymore.

"Hey", Gavin said, "you want to like, take this to the bedroom?" The line made him cringe as soon as it had left his mouth, but Michael said _yeah_ in a husky voice and all at once they were moving across the living room floor, pulling at each other's clothes as they went.

By the time they reached the bed they were both down to their underwear. Gavin pulled Michael down on top of him and groaned when he felt Michael’s hardness, pressing into his hip.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Gavin had the thought that he should be embarrassed by the moan that slipped out when Michael slipped a hand down to grip his cock. After all this was his best friend, someone he saw every day at work, and a guy to boot… But it didn’t matter in the least, all that mattered was that this was _Michael_ touching him and he was so wound up he might just come at any moment.

Michael’s lips were burning hot against his throat and his fingers strong around his cock, stroking steadily.

Gavin panted. “Michael. Michael, wait, I don’t…” He reached down to stop Michael’s hand from moving.

Michael looked worried. “What’s up? You alright?”

Gavin laughed a little. “Yeah, I was just bloody seconds from coming there.”

“What are you, fourteen?” Michael grinned.

“Oh shut up, you.”

Gavin pushed at Michael and flipped them over, and then moved to kneel between Michael’s legs. With a deep breath he reached down and hooked his fingers under the edge of Michael’s boxers. _In for a penny…_

“Jesus, Gavin.” The noise Michael made when Gavin wrapped his lips around his cock went straight to Gavin’s dick.

Giving a blowjob was easier than Gavin had imagined - after all, he knew what felt good for him, and it wasn’t that hard to figure out how to do it. He was encouraged, too, by the way Michael moaned when he switched between rapidly sucking on the head, and taking it as deep as he could manage.

Michael’s fingers tangled in his hair and tugged. “Gav, if you don’t stop now I’ll…”

But getting Michael to come was the plan, after all, so he just sped up a little, sucking a little harder, listening to Michael’s breathing quickening and then there was a burst of heat in his mouth, followed by a salty taste, and he kept going until Michael fell back on the pillow, panting.

Feeling more than a little smug, Gavin wiped his mouth and lay down next to Michael. “So, that was alright, then?”

Michael flashed him a blissed out grin. “Just… Just gimme a second to recover, I’ll return the favor.”

“It’s fine, you don’t have to…”

Michael sneered. “What the fuck do you take me for?” Then he was on top of Gavin, kissing him deeply, apparently paying no mind to the fact that he must be tasting his own come in Gavin’s mouth. _Christ_.

Afterwards, Gavin would always claim that he lasted longer than Michael had, but the truth was that he was ready to come almost as soon as Michael went down on him. He did his best to think of unsexy things (feet, politics, the air in the Achievement Hunter room after an hour of recording) to make it last longer, but all too soon his orgasm hit him like a truck, his hips straining upwards as he released into Michael’s hot mouth.

Michael fetched them drinks while Gavin was still buzzing with pleasure, and then they lay dozing off for a while, arms wrapped around each other, not speaking and perfectly at ease.

Gavin was woken up a little later by Michael straining to reach his phone on the nightstand without having to let go of Gavin. Gavin reached out and handed it over. “What’re you doing?”

“I’m just going to text Lindsay I’ll be staying over here.” Michael paused and looked at him. “That’s fine, right?”

Gavin snorted. “‘Course, you dolt.”

They slept together, and went to work together, and at the office Lindsay wrapped her arms around them both, and Gavin thought _yeah. We can make this work._

 


End file.
